WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama told governors
at a White House meeting on Monday he expects a decision on
whether to allow the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline from Canada
in the next couple of months, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin told
reporters.

Fallin, a Republican who strongly supports the pipeline, said she
asked Obama whether he would use his executive powers to approve
the pipeline, which has been under government review since 2008.

"He did come back and say that he anticipates an answer one way
or the other in a couple months," Fallin said after the governors
met with Obama.

Opponents of the project say TransCanada Corp's pipeline would
exacerbate climate change by supporting carbon-intensive
development of Canada's oil sands crude. Supporters in Congress
and the energy industry say Keystone would improve U.S. energy
security and create thousands of construction jobs.

The State Department is gathering comments from other government
agencies and the public on the $5.4 billion project. The agencies
have until the end of April to comment on whether the pipeline is
in the national interest.

Then Secretary of State John Kerry will make a recommendation to
Obama on whether the project is in the national interest. Obama
has indicated he will make the ultimate decision.

The White House had not said how long the review will take.

Also on Monday, TransCanada said it was confident that legal
complications in one of the states Keystone would run through
will soon be resolved.

A Nebraska court ruled last week that a law that let Governor
Dave Heineman allow the Keystone XL project to pass through his
state was invalid.

The state's attorney general appealed the decision on behalf of
Heineman immediately after the court ruled.

TransCanada said it has been advised by Nebraska that the appeal
puts a hold on the lower court's ruling until a final judgment by
a higher court.

Company spokesman James Millar said TransCanada believes the
route approved by Heineman remains valid during the appeal.

"We have dealt with many issues related to this project in the
past and are confident we can overcome this latest hurdle,"
Millar said in a statement.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Timothy Gardner; Editing by
David Storey and Meredith Mazzilli)

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